Confused about cholesterol

[poppym12]

Can anyone advise me on the various numbers and ranges please?

I've been called into the surgery about my recent blood tests and from what I understand, it's not just the serum cholesterol that's significant, the other levels should be taken into account too?

Anyone?

What I can tell you is that cholesterol is made up of these bits, LDL, HDL and triglycerides. Ones known as good cholesterol, one bad and triglycerides are awkward huggers that won't go down despite lifestyle changes (for me anyway). Your doctor should explain your total and how it's made up. There's now some arguments whether high cholesterol is serious.(except for those buggering trigs)

Thank you goose. I'm confused because my 'good ones' are high and the triglycerides low (0.8 or something).

No surprises I'd end up with high cholesterol as it seems to be a family trait, even my tiny size 8 sister has high cholesterol. Very confusing.

Broadly, if your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is lower than 1 millimole/litre, your non-HDL (intermediate-density lipoprotein [IDL], low-density lipoprotein [LDL] and very-low-density lipoprotein [VLDL]) add up to more than 4 mmol/L and your total cholesterol is more than 5 mmol/L, it's not good.

You can think of LDL as taking cholesterol from your liver to your tissues (including arteries, where it causes the trouble) and HDL taking it in the opposite direction. If you have elevated total cholesterol but still have high enough levels of HDL it might not do any damage. If the forms of cholesterol that deposit in the arteries outweigh those that remove it, there is a risk of atheroma (formation of fatty deposits in the arteries) and atherosclerosis (narrowing & stiffening of the arteries).

Thank you @wally. I'm afraid I still don't understand but the practice nurse has said that as my HDL is 2.2 (triglycerides 0.8), I don't need to be overly concerned but to try to lower my serum cholesterol to under 5. I have been slowly losing weight over the last 9 or 10 months so I'll continue this in the hope that it helps. I'm mindful that there is a lot of heart disease in my family.